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Text File | 1997-10-21 | 74KB | 1,290 lines

WMR (Reviews [week #25]) __ __ __ | \ __ ______/ |_ | | | o \ | | | / o | \ |o | | \| o| |o _/ | o\ []=======| |==| \ |=| |/ | \========[] []=======| |==| \ |=| | |\ \=======[] []=======| |==| \|=| | |=\ \======[] :: | | | \ | | | / / :: :. | | | |\ \| | /| |/ / :: : | | |/\ | \ | |/ | | / : | | / \| |\ | | | | / :. | | / \ | \ | |__| | / .: :: | |/ \| \_| | |/ : :: | /\ | | __| |\ :: []=======| / \ |=| |==| | \==========[] []=======| /| \ |=| |==| | \=========[] []=======| /=| |\ |=| |==| | \========[] |o / | | \ o| |o | | |\ o\(mansooj) |_/ | o | \_| |__/ | o | \__/ |___| |___| (Originally compiled and added on September 8, 1997) (last updated 09.14.97) -----========================================----- -----================================================================----- "One out of Infinity" by PanDuh! (18ch XM, 03:20) (1nfiniti.zip [271K/789K]) [Light Rock/Ballad] "One out of Infinity is my tribute to Enigma. I got the idea for the drumline from listening to the song Return to Innocence. However, that is where the similarity ends, as this song is a guitar based piece. I must apologize for that one sample with the "clicks." I realize that it seems very unprofessional to release a song with a scratchy sample, however, sometimes there are times when no other sample sounds "right." So forgive me for the imperfection, and enjoy the music otherwise." [PanDuh!] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Rebriffer 85- 75 80 75 80 Fanta C 82+ 86 84 88 68 WolfSong 76+ 71 70 73 67 CCerberus 75+ 84 83 70 60 Mysterium 75+ 75 80 70 30 Shih Tzu 71+ 69 74 -- 63 Husanak 63+ 70 60 60 65 Skullsaw 55- 50 50 55 60 /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Shih Tzu ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ One out of Infinity is a rather mellow light rock tune. The piece starts with a nicely built intro that begins in unison and gradually expands into a set of chords that introduce the main chordal progression along with the main percussion line. After this, a guitar plays a solo which is eventually accompanied by the drums and the background chords, and indeed, turns out not to be a melody after all but another layer of the background. Over this, the first real melody is played using what sounds like a sort of brass sample. Next, a synth choir sample, the same one that began the piece, is played against the guitar line and eventually gets a melody of its own in the main progression. The piece winds down with a brass sample duet, and finally a fadeout. The percussion fits the mood of the piece very well and is admirably tracked. I have had no experience with guitars, but the samples here sound well chosen, and the composer uses slides effectively with these samples, much like Necros did in The Crossing. However, the guitar's part in this piece is mostly straight eighth notes. While this works fine when it's in the background along with the chords, it is less successful as a solo melody. Some rhythmical variation during the guitar melody sections would have helped. The real melody lines are well written, but they suffer from using the worst two samples of the piece. The 'brass' sample has an annoying and oft-exposed loop, and on top of that, it sounds whiny and weak. It may be being played well out of the range it was intended for. The synth choir sample sounds fine in the intro, but it too is pushed out of its octave in the melodies, with the same whiny result. The composer has also ignored the fact that this sample has an inherent fadein, so any melodies it plays sound somewhat disjointed, with a break between every note as the sample fades in. This could have been avoided with the use of offsets or portamentos. Interestingly, the sample's fadein is not as objectionable in the intro and actually adds to the flavor. One out of Infinity is a piece not without its flaws. However, it manages to succeed where it could have easily failed by avoiding overt repetition and creating just the right amount of dissonance between its melodies and its basic chords. Anyone interested in pleasant mellow rock would do well to give this piece a shot. --- References --- The Crossing by Necros ([download]) /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Husanak ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ While listening to this tune the first time, I pictured an 80's style rocker with his hair held up nice and high with 2 tons of spray, blowing kisses to a fourteen year-old girl. The best way to describe the style is Bon Jovi'ish. One Out of Infinity starts with a Spartan little introduction that should and could have been much better. PanDuh! doesn't use any channel flipping on the intro lead (or on any of the leads) and the result is a lead that sounds like it's being hacked at the knees. Every time a new note is played the last one abruptly cuts off. PanDuh! could have easily flipped the notes between channels thereby sustaining the notes nicely. PanDuh! has, however, crafted a tune, one with some really nice transitions. Just after the tune starts cooking, PanDuh! drops the drums and backing instruments and showcases a real nice acoustic guitar piece. The guitar bit is exemplary and the transition really sets it up well. One of the tune's biggest weaknesses would have to be the samples. The only samples I can say I liked were the acoustic guitar samples. They were nicely tracked and the quality wasn't that bad (although they weren't that good either). The distorted guitar lead was, however, unbearable. It sounded bad and was tracked about as well as it sounded. Once again, with the distorted lead guitar PanDuh! would have done well to flip the channels and sustain the notes. Overall, I have to say I liked this tune; it was better than average, though I do think that PanDuh! could have done much better. Technically, it could have used a bit more polishing--the leads really did sound like a start/stop telegram. PanDuh! shows that he can track a good melody and has a flair for composition, however, technically, he has a bit to learn and this may be implicitly admitted in the song text where he mentions that this is only his third release. I have hope of hearing marked improvement in the future. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ WolfSong ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a nice new age/light dance piece that reminds me of something that you might hear from Enigma. I really liked the way the melody fit into the chords in this one. I can't pick out what the lead instrument actually is--sounds like it might be an acoustic guitar--whatever it is, it's almost like a combination of a melody and broken backing chords with each note falling exactly on the downbeat. Okay, that might sound a little dull, but for some reason it fits very well into this song. Filling out the background and supporting everything is a quite soothing and "large," mellow voice synth that I really liked a lot. The drum style helps the visualization of the piece. I don't know why, but the whole song seems "wintry." It made me think of a lonely old woman in a cabin the middle of nowhere, thinking of better times while watching the snow falling outside her window. Perhaps it has something to do with a "bellish" quality in the sounds and some of the chords in the music itself. Still, this song is like the little girl with the curl. When it's good it's very, very good...but when it's bad.... Most of the time in songs that I like this much, my complaints are just nitpicky. Nothing really major. But the main thing that I dislike about this song jumped right into my lap and introduced itself. There are some melodies that come up during the course of this song which use quite well-fitting samples, however.... A couple of times, starting about halfway through, an electric guitar solo begins to play. Now, I suppose the melody is fine, and there's really nothing wrong with the placement either, and there were plenty of effects used to help it along, but the sample--it sounds like a refugee from a chainsaw sound effects CD. It didn't fit into this song at all. I found it to be a loud, noisy shock compared to the smoothness it'd been surrounded by. It's almost as if PanDuh ran out of good samples and had to drag one out of the basement to finish the song. However, I've heard much worse and believe me, when looking for good tunes, harsh sounding samples are the least of your problems. I still liked the song, since it was good in the places that really count. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Fanta C ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a good effort at some real music. The tune is moody and somewhat memorable, but lacks real "catchiness" which is essential for a really good track. I applaud PanDuh!'s approach in attempting to create a first class track (and I'd guess he's been influenced by some of FBY's work?), but unfortunately, there are a few flaws which slightly spoil what would have otherwise been a near perfect composition. At the start of the track, there's some real nasty clicking on one of the instruments (a mellow organ type sound) which doesn't bode well from an "initial impressions" point of view. After that, it gets better with no glitches or any obvious errors during the remainder of the first part. We meander through a slow, laidback section constructed with mainly acoustic instruments for a few minutes, until finally a wailing but subdued electric guitar is brought into play right on cue. It would have been excellent had not the selection of the sample used for the electric guitar been slightly crap, not to put too fine a point on it. At this point in the track, the guitar break is just what's needed and would have been terrific if a better sample had been employed. It just sounds weak and slightly scratchy. Also, the panning of this instrument is a bit disconcerting. It starts at the left, then suddenly switches to the right and stays there. This pattern of quiet acoustics and electric lead play is repeated, with variation, once before the tune ends rather abruptly. A mellow, moody and tuneful composition needing some tweaking to raise it to its true level; I'm sure it could be excellent with some more work. A very good track nonetheless. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a very nicely-executed sort of soft rock crossed with Enigma tune. As a matter of fact, the first several patterns of this song made me think of the S3M Pray Aphrodite by SamH. It's a really interesting combination, and when done well (as this is), yields a powerful effect. I've never heard acoustic guitar blended so smoothly with the superdeep bass and synth snare of the Enigmatic genre. Besides the simple yet creative overall structure of this song, it is well-orchestrated and contains some of the best acoustic guitar samples I've heard to date. (I'm practically ripping them as we speak! :)) The one thing, though, that really just shot a lot of the experience down was the MUCH lower quality, and far too loud sudden appearance of a lead guitar sample...a really WEAK lead guitar sample. The sample was cheap, being played too high to sound realistic, and was far less crisp than the other samples in this song. I'm somewhat amazed that PanDuh! actually kept this lead guitar business in the song, since he obviously has an otherwise strong grasp on making smooth music. PanDuh!, if you're reading this, PLEASE remix this song, and either take that lead guitar out or replace it with a better sample! This song is so good otherwise! It's not groundbreaking material, mind you, but it *is* an intelligent use of two distinct musical genres, and it's worth your time to listen to. --- References --- Pray Aphrodite by SamH ([download]) /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Mysterium ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ My eyes are closed, and I am envisioning myself imagining the beautiful. Although starting off mild, this tune progresses into a well-crafted track! I found myself lost in the hooky, piano melody of this tune. Hmmm...come to think of it, the main piano set reminds me of a song I have heard before, but I can't remember which one. Only a few things to note that distracted from this excellent piece. First and foremost, the samples were horrendous! A constant background noise could be heard and that doubtlessly abstracted the listener from the moment of the piece. If PanDuh! can find some cleaner samples, the improvement to the piece may prove immeasurable and will certainly accentuate the lightness of the melody. Another distraction is the flute instrument, which begins to play in pattern #22. If the composer could mesh it into the rest of the song a little better, then I think that the song would flow more suitably. The composition of the tune has well structured transitions, and the tune progresses easily without any forced sections. PanDuh! does an excellent technical job on the song, creating an above-average feel to the music. And as for originality, I'm glad not everyone does techno! In spite of the melodic parts that sound like a song I have heard before, the music is inspired and moving. I look forward to hearing more of PanDuh!'s music in the future. =) Congrats on a premium track. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ PanDuh!'s third outing and a very nice workout too. A slow, almost rocky ballad that has some *veerry* sharp samples, especially a guitar/harpsichord sound that carries the main rhythm. In fact, there's a progression it performs at the very beginning of the track I had to listen to several times, it was so good. One Out Of Infinity is that rare animal, a well performed, well structured ballad--an extremely difficult task given the nature of tracker programs. It's made infinitely (groan) better by the choice of instruments with which to deliver it. Apart from the aforementioned sample, all the other instruments are in perfect harmony with the basic tenor of the track. Even the obligatory sickly sweet strings do the track justice, and for me to admit that is a minor miracle. Technically, I applaud this effort from PanDuh!; obviously he's learning with each new track. I know from personal experience how difficult this particular genre is, and I know the amount of effort involved in getting a track this *perfect*. Having said all that, I have to be brutally honest and say that I really only appreciated it from the technical aspect. I do like and listen to tracks such as this, but not that often. If you're in the market for an excellent ballad, then I can recommend this in all honesty as being a real good example of how to do it right. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Skullsaw ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ One Out of Infinity is not a bad little ballad. It had a solid chord progression that is played by dark strings and bass. The drums are the Enigma style we've all heard before. Melodic parts are handled by a mixed bag of leads including guitar and flutish sounds. One thing that sort of got on my nerves is a harpsichord that plays against the progression, I found it to be repetitive--maybe a little instrumental variation would help. The quality of some samples is not all that great. From the very beginning, clicking loops are easily heard. The guitar sample sounds quite distorted and grainy. On the other side of the coin the drum loop is clean and has plenty of oomph. The synth strings and bass also sound good. Compositionally, this isn't all that adventurous but I do like the melancholy that is evoked. This mod lacks the preciousness of many ballads, a quality that I don't care for, so I can listen to it without cringing. Nothing mind-blowing but quite palatable. -----================================================================----- "Dream Flight: Instrumental Mix" (Auroral Trilogy: Part II) (version 1.00) by Mysterium of Nebula (??ch IT, 06:46) (n_dfim.zip [667K/1153K]) [Melodic Dance/Rave] "I finally made an original track, instead of remixing someone else's work (but I like doing that =)). My last original was a few months ago! At first this was going to be a mix of my good friend's Rave-O-Tek piece called Earth Terminated. You may recognize the chords from it...but then I decided to make my own tune! I really like this piece and I think it is one of my better ones! It's more or less 6:30 min in length, but you should listen to the entire piece." [Mysterium] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Fanta C 91+ 92 94 87 92 Rebriffer 90+ 95 85 80 90 ChroMix 80+ 72 89 85 85 WolfSong 79+ 80 79 75 77 MING 71+ 70 85 55 60 Nova 69= 75 75 54 60 /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Nova ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a fun little tune. Well, I can't use the word 'little' because it's over 1MB in size. I'll talk about that more a little later. The song reminds me of when a literary author uses free form thought flow. You can have six or seven thoughts all compacted into one tiny little article but thought one and thought three may be in no way related. It seems as if Mysterium is just writing whatever comes to him; which is cool. I like the way the mod warms up using multiple stuttering synth sounds, and liked the spot where a siren is used and the pitch and tone are increased higher and higher (I had someone walk into the room while this sequence was playing and they said it sounded like a dolphin; wow, now that would be a cool sample!) I also enjoyed the way the author used a woman's laughter: panning it back and forth across the left and right speakers. But the part I most enjoyed was near the halfway point of the song. Mysterium picks up the pace of the higher-ended synth and takes the mod for what I call a short "run." This is accomplished when an author uses shorter duration notes with the lead instrument. In this case, the surrounding passages don't dominantly use anything faster than an 8th note. In this "running" passage the author uses 16th and 32nd notes with the lead synth. This part of the song most justifies the "Flight" portion of the title because of it's light and airy sound There are a couple of little spots that I don't like, however. One is the introduction of voice about a quarter of the way in; it's harsh and sort of distracts from the mod. The other is a 'darker' portion where the author uses the aforementioned sonar- or 'dolphin'-type sample and a droning, buzzing, bassy synth sample. If these two things were cut out, I think the mod would be more focused and would not seem so dragged out. Which brings up the topic of module size I mentioned earlier. If the sections that I did not like were cut out, the mod size could drop from the larger 1.09MB to a more manageable 700kb. This mod has some good stuff in it. When you listen to it just don't get lost in all the extras the author has thrown in. But as always, "Your Mileage May Vary!" /-----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \-----------------------------------------------------/ Oscillating synths of various sorts and a dancebeat. Chick laughing and "This...is a dream." Oscillating synths of various sorts and a trancebeat. Short interruption with oscillating synths, beat and a typical dancetune melody. Back to oscillating synths and beat. Oscillating synths and siren. Chick laughing and "This...is a dream." Oscillating synths of various sorts and a trancebeat plus some random fx. And finally the laughing chick again. Exciting? Hardly. Well done? Quite. Enjoyable? Actually, yes. One time. Maybe even two, if you're into this kind of music. But you really need patience to listen to it. Albeit initially nice, the whole tune actually osscillating in sixteens through almost seven minutes seems to stress my brain to the brink of a nervous breakdown. And now, five minutes later, I can still feel the pulsating in my inner ears. A tune that sticks to your mind, yes, but not in an entirely positive way. Overall, it is produced with skill and experience, with a well spread sound spectrum and well filled playtime--not a dead second; although the whole song is still a bit low on the action scale. Good use of volume and effects, and simple but effective panning. Technically, a very good job. So the sound, in general, is juicy and full featured. But... ...But the extremely phony vocals make me groan inwardly. Not that they manage to destroy the song, but they are just slightly annoying. I just don't like them, and can't really figure out what they're doing in there, when the tune's overall impression gets so much better when I shut them off. Oh well, I didn't make the tune, Mysterium did, and in the name of artistic freedom, he can do whatever he bloody well wants to with his compositons. Whether I like it or not is my problem. And I mean, I can't go ballistic over such a detail. It's a swell tune for anyone into deeptrancey stuff, and a module well over the average. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Like most people, I first met this US based composer on the very worthwhile alt.binaries.sounds.mods newsgroup (where a lot of composers hang out) a few years ago and we've exchanged emails since. I particularly admire what Myst's group (Nebula) do netwise and have been an avid fan of the site for a while now...the same, unfortunately, could not always be said for the music. Mysterium is a longstanding fan of the remix art and, as those who know me will agree, I am not much of a fan for remixing tracks. Oh, I can take the odd remix of a good MOD track, but remixes of commercially available material? This smacks of ships, coals and Newcastle. Myst, loves remixing, though, so each to his/their own, eh? Imagine my surprise then when this track landed in my email box for review. An *original* Mysterium track! I can't understand why Mysterium doesn't release much more original material because this is *class* with a capital C. The samples are clear and well defined, and the track has this amazing rhythm and energy to it--one you would be hard pressed to find in the real world, let alone as a MOD track. I've always had a real soft critical spot for high energy dance music and this track delivers that with such style it's hard to find fault. Oh, there's no doubt that I will sooner or later find the track's limitations, but right now I'd be hard pressed to say that it wasn't jes' 'bout puffick. A very decent track for downloading even if the style doesn't particularly appeal because the quality and variety of the samples used alone will make it worthwhile. Aaand, if you like your music to float and stomp at the same time, this baby'll do yer nicely. How would you like it wrapped??? By the way, isn't that the Alison Moyet sample yet again? /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ ChroMix ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Hmm...very nice. There's a lot about this piece that deserves noting as being good. It's certainly not the best piece I've ever heard (in the way of being moving) but it's rather cool nonetheless. The one thing that is everpresent in the song is its beat and the groove: that cool resonator type thing that kind of sets the mood for the whole song. It all kind of flows in with other synths throughout the song to create the various movements within the piece, and it works rather well, although the movements aren't very powerful in and of themselves, being present but not front and center. The single most impressive thing about this tune are the panning effects it uses. The panning in this song is absolutely amazing. It really brings you deep into the song and allows it to be (at least) absorbing, if not moving. This song is very well put together, and I found it kind of ironic that this was actually the author's first self-composed song (as opposed to being a remix). In light of that, I'd say the song is pretty impressive. The only problem with this piece, as stated before, is that it doesn't really grab you in any way, other than through the panning. It never really becomes melodic at any time, and therefore, it becomes rather hard to really enjoy. However, a nice synth lead thing that comes in around pattern 53 or so, was, I must say, an exception. If the rest of the song had sounded more like that, it would have been great. Overall, though, definitely a cool piece if you like house; I do, so I like it. The author really makes the song sound very "clubby" and seems to have had quite a bit of experience in tracking before composing this piece, so I'll have to say that this piece definitely deserves a listen. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Fanta C ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a dance/techno track, and not a bad one either. Variety, they say, is the spice of life and if, like me, you spend a lot of time just typing on the keyboard, then you may have your favorite MOD player going in the background, running through a playlist. You may want your playlist varied, as I do, and if so, I'd recommend DFIM as first class working music. It's quite an involving little track. The author has done well to maintain, nay, demand, interest in a reasonably long track, which gets better and better as it progresses. It has voice samples which do actually add to the experience (a rarity, in my opinion), and it has an interesting make up with clearly defined sections, good breaks and character. As far as the instrumentation is concerned, we are presented with a fine mix of traditional and completely imaginary instruments. Take, for example, the percussion section; standard hihats, snare, and bass, but also some interesting new (to me anyway!) chirpy sounds. The lead instruments are also nicely crafted. I particularly liked the unusual notched filtered (band pass filtered, if you prefer) sound used in some of the bridge sections. A nice variation on the standard techno fare, which I salute. Overall, at first glance, this track may come across as good, rather than "cool." On further investigation, you may find it is actually very cool! The author states in the sampletext that he really likes it. Me too! Respect to Mysterium for this one. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ WolfSong ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I really enjoyed listening to this slightly mellow dance song. The strong point in this piece is a beat that is definitely compelling. I admit it, I was dancing. The composer used many of your standard dance song tricks and stylings, but not in ways that we've all heard a million times already. The song was a little bit too long for my liking, but it didn't get dull. There were enough changes to keep it interesting, though there were a few places where the action was a little slow. Nothing in this song was definitively bad. All the elements of tracking a song were done well including some nice use of panning effects and some pretty nifty tracking techniques, and beyond that there was a bit of imagination thrown in. It sounds like the composer even used a cricket as one of his instruments. I particularly like the way Mysterium added tension and dynamics to the piece by using softer moods in places and bringing the beat in and out. This song would make a nice addition to almost anyone's module collection (unless you just dislike the style completely). Very nice work. -----================================================================----- "Coral Reef" by Big Bear of Fake That (14ch XM, 04:16) (ft_crlrf.zip [330K/602K]) [New Age/Demo/Soft Rock/Dreamy] ! Winner of the Buenzli #2 music compo ! Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Fanta C 92+ 92 94 91 92 Mansooj 85+ 80 -- 65 74 Araneus 75+ 79 -- 72 75 MING 69- 80 70 45 70 WolfSong 65+ 69 77 75 60 Rebriffer 65+ 55 75 60 65 Red Death 55= 40 -- 50 50 /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ When someone says "chips" to me I think of thinly sliced potatoes fried in oil, and spiced preferably with just salt (back to basics), and consumated with cold beer or, for the minors, sobrieters and soda-lovers, with Coke. Those little pieces of snacks have very little to do with music, and even less to do with mods. Ya know, they just crumble and fall into your keyboard. Not to mention being the source of greasy fingerprints on the keys. Bleah. Am I sidetracking or something? :) I also don't really connect those things called chip samples very much with any music I prefer, either. Now, why am I ranting about this? Coral Reef, the tune I'm supposed to be ranting about doesn't contain any chippies. And that's exactly what's bugging me. I don't like the sound of 99% of those chips in mods, and even though this one doesn't have any, it still manages to simulate them. Geez. And it's this little detail that keeps bugging me all through the tune. When the composer wants me to be impressed by the obvious tracking skills he possesses and the general musical quality of the piece, all I can do is to wait for Sonic the Hedgehog to appear on the screen and start shooting my icons with a cute little radgun. You know, it's not the samples themselves I have anything against, it's just the terrible association to all this oldschool platform game style of mods that makes me want to reverse my dinner. But, putting my prejudices aside, and looking at it objectively, we've got a really nice piece. A slow, melodic ballad with a sax/'chip' theme backed up by some organ and strings and slow drumming. The tune creeps forward in the same old way, with simple background work and nice, quite complex melodies until somewhere in the middle. I just started to think "isn't it going to get somwhere?" when, surprisingly, it did. It picked up the pace for a few patterns with a Purple Motion inspired demo-dance theme. A little bluntly produced maybe, but it sure lightened up the production in all. But then again, at that point, ANY change would have been an improvement. After that, we get shoved back into the ballad theme again, but with an altogether new set of melodies to transport us to an undramatic ending. I get kinda ambivalent at this point. On one side we've got the style I really can't stand, and a tune in that style that doesn't even come close to holding my attention. On the other hand, it's tracked and composed with a lot of know-how, and it's both harmonic and very nice to listen to. That's it. A very nice module, with a high boredom factor, and in production, a somewhat blunt job. Samples and effects used with skill and good taste (not counting the chip-like one :)), and overall, a good piece of mod music for the average listener. Not for me though, but I've never claimed to be anything but insane. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Fanta C ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a beautiful track and, as a bonus, the title accurately matches the mood and descriptive elements conveyed in the music. Coral Reef is a real gem. It's a classic ambient piece with all the right ingredients. The instruments are well chosen, the construction is excellent, as is the basic premise of the melody. Yup, I'd say Coral Reef was put together by a master. The track starts rather predictably with waves washing against the shore. The music proper starts with a quiet introduction to the main melody played out on a keyboard, then we slide into the main melody for the first part which is somewhat haunting, but not overly so. As if to wash away (sorry) any doubt that the author can produce more upbeat work, we are treated to a second section about halfway through where the tempo and volume are wound up a notch (or two) before passing gently back into the more haunting, and quiet ending section. This naturally conveys the ability of the sea to be calm sometimes, whilst powerful at others. The sound stage is superbly engineered, filled mainly with mellow instrumentation. The lead instruments consist of a horn, flute and marimba. The backing contains such novelties as a harp and bells. What is interesting is that most of these instruments have been subtly altered either during instrument creation, or via the player's effects commands. It takes a great deal of confidence on behalf of the tracker to try this sort of thing; normally instruments in modules are either deliberately electronic or strive to sound as real as possible, halfway houses are rare. Kudos to Big Bear for creating some excellent sounding instruments, especially the very Pink Floydish horn work. The composition is simply fantastic. As noted above, the song has a break in the middle which is superbly crafted; in particular the percussion work and selection of lead instrument (a brash string/horn mix) at this point really makes you smile. Keep an eye out for the more rarely used samples; again, an indication of maturity and ability in the composer/tracker. Conclusion: I don't know whether it's because Boris has refined his preferences/reviewer profiles or whether modules are getting genuinely better, but this is getting more fun every day, 'specially when faced with the likes of Coral Reef which is a first rate example of an atmospheric mod. Indeed, it's an excellent track irrespective of the style. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Coral Reef opens in such a way that the title has no chance to create a sense of ambiguity in the mind of the listener: ocean waves. Yeah, okay, ocean waves are overused, but the way I look at it, if it fits the scene the song is trying to construct, no problemo. Sneer at those tunes that use such things gratuitously, instead. Structurally, the song is divided into three fairly distinct sections. The opening, beyond the ocean waves, follows the relaxed tone with a rather slow, uncomplicated percussion (bass/snare/hihat) track, topped by a bass and no more than two--and usually one--synths at a time. The presentation is decidedly minimalistic throughout this first movement. The melody is carried by a chubby synth, and, I think, is very sweet at times, though it is also fairly simplistic. Overall, the segment has a very nice, drifty feel. Approximately halfway through, the song takes a right turn into a definite demo influenced part of town. A short belltone roll and the tempo picks up, the chubby synth in the first segment gives way to another synth--one that is instantly recognizable as brethren to synths used in a myriad of demo tunes. This movement is short, and is really just a brief spicer interlude used as a segue into the final part. The last movement is something of a reprise of the first, bringing back most of the instruments used there, as well as some of the tone. In this revision, a few of the synths are working in tandem to create a denser image than before, a belltone is introduced as well as additional flavoring, and ocean waves are now added into context. This is a nice melange of sounds, and is more new age than anything else. This also concludes the piece, and it is guided out simply via a quick hihat roll, and a loss of all instruments, leaving only the ocean waves--in as a lamb, out as a lamb. Simple, but effective enough for a song with this much of a laidback disposition. The demo style segue did what it was supposed to do--break the continuity to add some variety--but I think it was a little bit too off-track to properly merge the two bracketing movements. For me, it's hard to decide which of either the initial or ending segments I liked best, as I liked them both. I prefer the tempo of the second, but the sweet melody of the first really clicked with me. That's really somewhat irrelevant, I suppose. I liked the track, overall, quite a lot. It has a lot of style and subtle flair, melodically, that should attract anyone who enjoys the softer side of the audio spectrum, especially those who go for new age, synth-based, melodic tuneage. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ WolfSong ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I thought the most notable thing about this song was the melodies. They were tracked quite nicely and added a lot of atmosphere. Honestly, I was a little surprised when the first one came in. There's nothing *wrong* with the rest of the music, but it doesn't seem to be tracked with as much style or experience as the solos. Actually, there isn't really that much to the song, technically. Oh, there are plenty of effects used, and the music seems interesting enough but when listening to it, you wonder why the composer had to use a whole 14 channels to create this piece. Most of the time there are only four distinct parts: the lead, bass, percussion and backing chords. Though, to be truthful, I would much rather see someone use too many tracks than too few--there's no problem with samples cutting each other off. I'm not sure what you would call this. It's mellow. Maybe soft rock. Except for a part in the middle when it turns into the music in an 80's exercise video, or a soundtrack in an old Anime flick. I wasn't particularly fond of that part, but it thankfully doesn't last very long and goes right back to the main theme afterward. In short, the song was tracked nicely and sounds decent, and the actual music is just this side of a big shrug. I believe that the composer has plenty of talent, enough to create a nice piece, but there just wasn't much in this song that grabbed me. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Red Death ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ There are really three different parts to this song. The first is a slow, somewhat sad ballad part that sounds like every other slow ballad. There's a resonatix lead, a cliched drum track, and background chords which are too loud. The second part, which starts just over halfway through, is a LOT better--it's fast, the bass and drums are more interesting, and the lead gets pretty cool. This part almost sounds like some of Lizardking's less techno-flavored stuff. That eventually dies down and gives way to some flute and chimes, which is faster and less sad, but still a bit tired. The samples used here are nothing special at all. They're not bad, just standard. Some of the samples that ought to be in the background are a bit too loud; siner chords in the first part and waves used through the end part are notable examples. The beginning and end parts of this song aren't bad, but are certainly not original. The middle part is pretty cool, however. I like the faster tempo and trumpets, and I think this part would rock if the song was the rocking type. I wouldn't exactly call it a ballad style song, because the last two parts are too fast, but I'd have to admit to not being able to actually place anywhere in particular, stylewise. There's There's plenty of better songs in this general vein out there (anything by Leviathan, for example). /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ On a personal note to this particular composer: not all of us think that vocal samples SUCK--some of us even like them...a lot. Yet another compo entry (for Buenzli #2) so we must presume that the quality content should be high. With such thoughts reverberating around the ol' brain pain, I unwrapped it gently and fired up M4W.... Good thing I wore me wellies (galoshes for you non-Brits), though, because the sea immediately started pouring through me speakers. Funny how so many of us use these water fx, eh? Obviously, I am on the ramble again so the tune isn't really grabbing my attention as it should. So what is this Coral Reef then? In fact, it's a fairly typical ballad-style compo entry--exactly the kind of thing you'd expect. Loads of coding, lots of fancy tricks, some neat twists and turns, clear samples, but ultimately, it's a track that does nothing at all for me. I found it kinda soulless and uninspiring, which for me means it won't hang around long. Perfectly fine if you appreciate the technicalities of tracking, but not so hot if all you want is a track to blow your socks off. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Araneus ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Is this a chip tune? It sounds like it in places. I tend to like mellow sounding chip tunes such as this one, since they are so clean-sounding, and can easily achieve a good sound range (good bass, melody, hihats, etc.) with the instruments. Midway through the song, Big Bear picks up the tempo in typical chip style (quick, good chords, and catchy), then finally returns shortly to a mellow tempo with ocean waves filling the background of the song, leaving the listener with a feeling of "aaahhh...." -----================================================================----- "Deep Cover" by Aftab Hussein (xxch MED (OctaMed SoundStudio), xx:xx) (deepcvr.zip [325K/515K]) [Trance/Techno] "This module marks a shift in style for me as a composer, a lot of my previous modules were Drum & Bass, but after listening to a load of Laurent Garnier, Detroit techno and lots of trance, I decided to try a different style.. and here it is. I have tried to contrast from the usual trance style, and tried to avoid using strings and dominant bass lines. I think it works O.K." [Aftab Hussain] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Skullsaw 90+ 90 70 70 90 MING 88= 88 97 75 99 Clones 85+ 90 80 80 90 Rebriffer 65+ 60 65 50 65 Araneus 55= 68 -- 37 60 ESP 40= 30 50 65 70 Fanta C 24- 42 27 22 32 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Clones ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is an interesting piece. It starts off with mysterious voices that echo into the formless void heralding a whooping bass line that stands between a melodic and rhythmic element. As techno, this has the elements you'd expect, synth riffs, heavy beat, and a general synthetic sound. The general picture this piece gives me is something from a sci-fi movie, say Blade Runner. It has the tension and the feel. As a composition, this piece is very well constructed. There's a good deal of development on several fronts. Rhythmic elements are added and subtracted, new melodies are introduced, removed, and their tone color changed. The background sounds, such as synth sweeps, literal noise, and the echoing voice conspire to generate the mood of the piece and also aid in its development. The flow is smooth and it never stays in one place for long. An especially neat part is the shrill high note held over the synth sweep and the techno rhythm and riffs as an example. Also volume is used as a developmental device with some climaxes occuring through the increased sound level. The only development that doesn't occur is harmonic--not that you'd notice. Overall this person has done an admirable job! Since this is a MED, I can't look as deeply into things. It sounds as if effects like volume setting and portamento are used. And the samples are unique and sound very clean and clear. To add this all up, this is a very good techno piece and something worth your time to download and listen too. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This dude has really taken extreme mesures to _prevent_ people from listening to his music. For some strange reason, no PC-player I've found so far has supported it. Fortunately, Mr. Hussein has included a decent player in the archive. Anyway, when finally getting the damn thing working, and sounds starts coming, a true top quality gem unveils itself--a smooth trancebeat, a lot of minimalistic acid snarls and slow, hypnotic pads. Although the beat in itself is of the ordinary bom-tsk-bom-tsk I normally despise, I think I now have found justification for its existence. In this tune, no other beat would have done a better job. And as the tune goes on, some themes pass by, in the ordinary way themes do in this kind of song; they enter, play and are (often with a little one-pace break) replaced by the next. Nothing surprising there, but the themes are all individually so well made and captivating that they don't need to be innovative in any way to gain and retain the listener's full attention for the duration. No technical mistakes whatsoever, and an almost perfect set of samples and mixwork results in the thing almost every tracker strives for. One completely forgets the fact that it is a module, and this allows oneself to concentrate on and get swept away by the music. A rare quality only the most skilled of mod composers have. For anyone who can stand on two legs, and has somewhat functional ears, download this tune, or face my eternal curse of Euro-Disco in your radio, reruns on TV, lousy sexlife and bad economy. And anything else regarding the worse sides of life you can think of. What I mean is: this song is very, very good. Period. Get it. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Skullsaw ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Let me start off this review with a simple comment. YEAH!!! This is how it's done. Deep Cover is trance at its best. Yes, it's repetitive but that's the point. The mod has an interesting intro with various synth effects, a very strange faraway sounding vocal sample and a sparse tribal beat. Before the intro gets old we are into tranceland. Boom-boom bass drum, rolling synths and basses take us on a journey, a slowly evolving journey to, well, wherever trance takes you as a listener. The composer really nailed the style, gradually building the intensity of the piece in subtle ways by adding instruments. I don't hear an over-reliance on instrument drops, this was done with care and taste. On the subject of samples, no problems here. Multiple versions of synths with different filtering provided me with plenty of ear candy. I like the drums, especially the big snare that is used on the downbeat in places. Great gurgling and buzzing and sweeping synths throughout. To sum up, Deep Cover may not be the most original piece of music I've ever heard, but it's definitely unusual; it's also an excellent representation of the genre. I highly recommend this mod, especially if you are a fan of trance. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-------------------------========[ ESP ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Samples can make or break a tune, and in the case of Deep Cover, the samples more or less make it. The track is still, unfortunately, fairly unremarkable, and even unpleasant in parts. It starts well, with a cool analoguesque, bubbly bass sample which adds what little interest there is to the track, after that, the next thrill is the addition of an atmospheric bass drum thud, and really, that's about as exciting as it gets. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad track exactly, it just isn't a good track either, with the quality of the samples being the only point about it that I can note as being above average. The track continues for too long without change (even minor changes would do), and is astonishingly static, with a kind of inertia which refuses to budge, probably because of its utter lack of funk, variance or melody. In short, it's boring. Nice samples though. Apologies if this review doesn't seem very elaborative or in depth, but it's difficult to get enthusiastic about this one. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Fanta C ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Oh dear. There should be a law against releasing one's first ever MOD, which this surely is? It lacks everything. No music. No imagination. No nothing. If this track was about six minutes shorter, it'd be fine. We start with some really inane sound blips and a warbling coming out of one speaker. This is kept going for close to two minutes and then fades out (rather erratically). For the next four minutes we have an extraordinarily bad beat punctuated with some fx samples with zero progression or structure building. Then, luckily, it ends and gets ditched in the trash. Repetitive boredom it is. Chinese water torture could be a close approximation, or "your worst nightmare evoked as a MOD" could be another. I don't mind experimental music of any type, but this is just plain bad, rubbish even. I can't think of any reason why anybody would want to listen to this. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Araneus ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The beginning to this song takes a while to play out. It is techno, after all. Probably as repetitive as a song of this genre gets, since layering is the main technique used to give the song variation. The composer seems to know what he wants, as all the regular elements of a techno song are there: the layering in the first half of the song, a regular set of sounds and beats in between, and a gradual reduction in beats and notes near the end. This one is very monotonic, though (I guess some sorts of techno *can* be and get away with it, but I'm not the sort of person who likes it). What the composer basically does is paste together proven techniques and call it a song. You might hear this type of techno at raves. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I've never had to review a MED before, so it's a real good job that the composer puts a copy of a PeeCee version of an OctaMed SoundStudio player into the zip accompanying this effort. The track starts with a lot of echo-y space noises before resolving itself into a standard trance outing. Admittedly, there are one or two nice little touches in the way the track develops, but ultimately it doesn't stand out enough for it to share my hard drive space for any extended length of time. The atmosphere's there, right enough, but it still doesn't really do much for this reviewer; it just isn't interesting enough. If you like the style, you may like this...there again, you may not.... -----================================================================----- "More Than a Memory" by Multivac of Melancholy (??ch IT, 02:27) (ml-memry.zip [286K/578K]) [Guitar and Piano Ballad] "I don't have too many good compositions, but I think this is the best of them. It's quite a simple song, but I made a special effort on the melody, and I believe it can get a good emotional response from the listener. But, if when hearing this song, you don't remember that ex-girlfriend who left you some years ago, then this is still not the song I'm trying to compose." [Multivac] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Clones 79+ 70 85 80 80 Peraphon 75+ -- -- -- 75 WolfSong 70+ 67 75 62 86 Mysterium 65+ 70 65 65 50 Fanta C 49+ 53 45 59 58 Shih Tzu 45+ 53 66 -- 74 CCerberus 40+ 54 60 25 83 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Fanta C ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ When trying to form an opinion of a track for review, rather than trying to decide what numbers to give, I try at first to get it into either a bad, average or good category. Excellent MODs stand out a mile and are easy to handle. Same for bad ones as well; easy to review. MODs in the middle are much harder and require more careful listening and much rewriting. Very often I'll find an "average" MOD is either a first release from somebody wise enough not to release earlier creations, or the track has been released too soon. In the first instance, it's forgivable because the author, in his/her enthusiasm to see his/her name in lights was too eager. In the second, it's not so forgivable because there doesn't appear to be a logical reason why an experienced author would release a track which had obvious errors. I guess you're wondering what's with all the waffling above? Well, it's because this track falls into the "average" category and I just wanted you know a couple of reasons why it might. You can decide precisely why from my comments below. More Than a Memory is an average track with errors. It starts great, nice acoustic steel strung guitar or two, picking notes across the sound field. Very nice. Then, however, as the accompaniment swings in, there's this absolutely terrible crash cymbal which seems to be completely unmixed--far too loud. It really destroys the music! Bloody unforgiveable is what I'd call it. The music is a slow ballad constructed with guitar and flute. Regretably, one can't judge the rest of the track because of the intrusively bad mix with the aforementioned cymbal. There also appears to be a technical error at the end; the music dies down, to what I guess is supposed to be a silence before the reprise. Unfortunately, the instruments hang on at the end of the decay, when I think it would have been better if the author had turned the channels off for the duration of the silence before the reprise? Maybe it's a personal thing, but it doesn't sound right to me. The conclusion? This MOD has mix and technical problems. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Shih Tzu ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ More than a Memory is a slow pop ballad. While it has no real glaring problems, that's mostly due to the fact that it doesn't take enough risks to create any. The song has a piano for a lead, with guitar accompaniment. There's the requisite drums and bass, and some strings that come in during the chorus. The samples are nice and clear; in a more inspired piece they'd work well. The form of the piece is a typical verse/chorus/bridge deal, but when so many modules have no thought given to form at all, it's not unpleasant to listen to something this familiar. The biggest problem of the piece is its repetitive chordal structure: A G F G. Not only is this one of the most overused progressions in module music, but every section of this piece, from the verses to the chorus to the bridge, has these chords underneath. This, shall we say, grows old. The verses should've also had more rhythmic variation. Nearly every phrase in the verses is a three-note pickup to a downbeat. I was shocked that the composer made the second verse melodically nearly identical to the first. Okay, great, this time it has the drums and bass...so what? Isn't the point of the second verse to be something different from the first until the chorus returns? The second verse should be one of the highlights of the piece; here, it's wasted. The sound of the piece is thin and rather unprofessional. I'm guessing that this is partly because every instrument except the bass and the guitar is played in a high octave, and the guitar is too light to be of help to the midrange. Some chords in that range, in the strings for example, would have helped quite a bit. I like the chorus, especially the first note (the G that alters the A chord) and the string descant. Unfortunately, on the whole, the piece is uninspired and weak. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a very nice acoustic guitar ballad. The song is very smooth, very moody, very emotive and very easy-going. Throughout the entire song, I got the sense that the music is all about reminiscence; revisiting the past, thinking deeply about things that happened and things that we would change given half a chance. I can just picture a movie scene showing someone thinking about places and times, and this music playing in the background. The song starts off with a very slow guitar riff which is then repeated quite a lot, and is soon joined by a piano. The piano seems to play individual notes rather than chords, as does the guitar. These two instruments work very well together, especially when combined with strings in the background. The bass adds a deep, pondering, and almost sad quality to the song. I think it works quite well. The samples used are of a very good quality, but there is some definite clicking in a couple of them. While not too serious, it becomes a little distracting when you start listening specifically for the clicks. Some of the samples sound a little fuzzy, but it is not highly noticeable. The guitar samples sound a little bit tinny, but it is possible that this was done on purpose. I don't know if the same song effect would have been achieved with different guitar samples. The song has a very full and rich tone, I would say mainly because of the bass and the string background. There is an unmistakeable end to this song, although it is not quite definite; it gave me the sense that while memories may fade, they are still there. Overall, excellent if you are into deep, thoughtful and emotive music. Well worth a listen. Plays well in Cubic 1.7 with the IT loader. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ WolfSong ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I guess this song could be considered closer to a rock ballad that's a little light on the rock part, than anything else. It's simple enough. A drumset, bass, clean electric guitar, strings and a piano, all of which are wonderful sounding, good quality samples. When I first turned on the song, I thought it sounded very good. Broken clean guitar chords came first, then a piano, both telling a rather sad story. Then, finally, the percussion jumped in and set the song along its path. I thought the chords were nice and the piano melody seemed to fit just what the song needed. My complaint here is that it was just too repetitive. The same theme repeats over and over until the song's end. Okay, so it's a good theme, but there are only so many times you can play something in a row before it will get at least a little old. The song was just begging for a good lead or maybe an instrument change for the melody in part of the song, but it never happened. The same beat, same chords...even the same melody just kept repeating, sometimes with a few short new phrases in between. Though the song did repeat too much and too often, I did make it through to the other side with a bit of fondness for it. Sure, if you took all the repeats out, the song would only be about 10 seconds long, but that doesn't mean the piece isn't good. I liked it quite a bit. What to do, what to do.... I'd say that you wouldn't be bad off to check this song out. It's at least good enough for a listen and who knows, you might wish the tune had been repeated even more. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Clones ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a very pretty ballad, simple, sweet, a love song, direct and flowing. Built on a four chord progession arpeggiated on a guitar, this piece builds a gush of emotion from simple melodies that seem so sincere it carries you off into a land of pleasent dreams. Formally, this song is quite simple and direct. As mentioned, the progression a minor, g major, f major and again g major form the foundation of the piece. The guitar arpeggio is always present. The form of the piece is ABCA'B'CA'B'CA and these are defined by instrumentation and melodic elements. A introduces the guitar, B adds a counterpoint melody with piano. C introduces the rest of the band, strings, drums, and bass come in to accompany a new piano melody. A' is A with bass, B' is B with bass and drums. The effects are appropriate, neither overt nor lacking, the tremelo on the guitar is unique and a nice touch. The samples are all quite good, though extraordinary, excepting the guitar sounds like a unique blend of electric and classical guitar with the tone color differing with register. Overall, the composition is not a tour de force except for this: it *communicates*--the most important aspect of any art. I do wish we had a "did it get its point across?" category. This would be a 100. To pull all this together, in light of the other work I've heard, I can't give this piece the best scores. But my recommendation is that this is a *must* download if you want something to touch your heart. I have listened to it now about 15 times while writing this review and it still grows on me. Can I say better? /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Mysterium ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A guitar solo starts the tune, soon followed by a well laid melodic accompaniment of chords and piano. This slow, easy piece makes excellent background music as you multitask on your PC. However, the piece does not particularly stand out among other similar tracks. Multivac does an above average job on most aspects of the piece, but a distorted bass and noisy guitar lead leave room for improvement. The structure of the song is simple and without much variety. I found this lack of diversity took away from the piece, because I readily discovered myself tackling with boredom. However, the bassline and piano melody fit the tune quite well, and the transition from one pattern to the next is unforced, allowing the piece to drift without distraction. Really not much else can be written about this tune, except that Multivac offers a short, infused piece which will leave you with more than a memory! /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a very mellow, thoughtful tune based around an acoustic guitar, piano, string sample, and gentle percussion. Definitely no new ground being broken here, but that's not generally the point with this style of music. This is the sort of music that would go well with a melancholy scene, such as looking out the window one evening as you think about somebody you knew long ago. See how well that fits with the title? The song is, unfortunately, a bit too simple, and was too short to really allow space for any kind of significant musical development. What this ends up being is a "pleasant to listen to but uninteresting enough not to play again" piece which will only end up being kept on the hard drives of people who collect this style of module religiously. As it is, it just doesn't STRIKE me. It's just another easy listening piece. -----================================================================----- "